The Annual Dinner was held
on Friday 26th January at Tillington Hall. Thanks largely to Ray Spurway, it
was a
great social success. Sadly the meal was not up to the usual standard, so complaints
have been made.

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Once again the Guild and the
Trustees decorated Christmas Trees at St Mary's Church.

Thanks to all who helped with
these superb displays.

There was a Swearing-in Court
on 22nd November 2017 when eight new burgesses were admitted by the Mayor,
Councillor Aiden Godfrey.

We welcome these new burgesses.

The Guild AGM took place on
21st November - to read the Master's Report Click Here.

The Guild took part in the
annual Remembrance service and parade and a wreath was laid by the master.

Stafford Burgesses were
pleased to participate in the Mayor-making Ceremony and Parade on 13th May 2017

Please ensure
that we have your latest e-mail if you did not receive this information.

We are pleased
to inform you that one of our number, Claire Spurway, had a very successful
trip to South Korea to
participate in the world Masters Athletic Championships.

She obtained a
Bronze, a Silver and a Gold Medal in three sprint categories. We offer our
congratulations.

She is seen in
the picture with members of the Guild Council, who were able to provide some
modest sponsorship.

The Annual Meeting of
Burgesses to review the work of the Trustees and make new appointments' was held
on Monday 16th January 2017 in the Walton Room of the Stafford Borough
Council, Riverside, Stafford.
The meeting was chaired by the Mayor of Stafford, Councillor Geoff Collier.

This
Guild of Burgesses, (or Freemen), is a historic and ancient body committed to the County Town of
Staffordshire:
The Borough of Stafford

2017

A
contingent from Stafford Guild attended the FEW Court Meeting at the
Guildhall in Henley-in-Arden on Saturday 18h March 2017.

Five members: Phill
Kinnersley, Ant Piddock, Brian Piddock, Ray Spurway and John
Edwards, (in his role as Warden for the North Midlands), can be seen
in the Photographs. The President of FEW and the High Bailiff of
Henley Court Leet are seen in the foreground.

This was a valuable
meeting with lots of information about the activities of the many
guilds around the country as well as completing the official
businesses of FEW.

In the light of
some recent developments at Stafford, the support of FEW and its
expertise could be very beneficial, as the status of Freemen and
their lands is constantly changing.

There has been a great deal of
misinformation circulating about the Freemen's lands at Coton Fields.

Absolutely nothing
has been done and there are no proposals to sell the primary
asset of Stafford Burgesses.

All this has emanated from a valid
question, raised at the Annual Burgesses meeting, about the security of our
tenure in the light of our realising that there are bodies, such as Severn
Trent, with powers to override ancient rights.

The concern was what we should do if
we found we were vulnerable and the scribe was instructed to check this.

It was noted that Freemen in
other places have disposed of some, or all, of their material assets and
invested the money elsewhere, but there was no proposal that we should do
so.

No individual stands, (or even
expects), to make any personal gain from any such transaction.

A copy of the Press release can be seen on the Coton
Fields web site by clicking here.

2016

Newly-sworn Burgesses of Stafford pictued with the Mayor, Mayoress,
Guild Master and Guild members after the 2016 Court.

Thanks once again to Paul Milgate-Scarratt for the picture.

A Flag for Staffordshire

The design submitted
by the
Staffordshire Heritage Group to which the Burgesses belong